Calabria Talent

Corona Chorus at the Italian Gospel Choir event

The most famous choir from Reggio Calabria could not be missing from the national Gospel scene. Corona Chorus were among the protagonists of the Italian Gospel Choir event, which was held in Milan on September 19. More than 500 chorus singers from all around Italy took part to the much anticipated concert in front of the Main Cathedral, one of the events promoted by the local administration on the occasion of Expo 2015.

The choir from Reggio, usually conducted by Francesca Ferrara, are among the Italian representatives of this music genre. During the event, they were accompanied by Italian Big Orchestra and conducted by Alessandro Pozzetto. Donald Lawrence, singer and music producer, as well as one of the most highly praised and renowned Gospel artists in contemporary America, was there as a special guest.

Quite an emotion for the members of Coron Chorus, although they were already used to high-level performances, having taken part to prestigious concerts held by the Italian Gospel Choir (one in Montecarlo on October 2012, another in Milan in 2014).

Il Corona Chorus con Cheril Porter

Since 1998, the year of its foundation, Corona Chorus have held more than 100 concerts in many Calabrian and Sicilian squares, theatres and churches, as well as participated in a wide range of artistic events, in collaboration with local associations and voluntary organizations for the promotion of solidarity projects.

The Theatre Francesco Cilea in Reggio Calabria, where they are always enthusiastically welcomed by a number of habitual followers, has been a frequent location for their concerts; other venues included the church of Saint John in Enna, the cathedral of Gerace, the highly atmospheric Hermitage Ss. Ecce Homo in Mesoraca, and the Nervi Audience Hall in Vatican City.

L’esibizione con Sherrita Duran

From 2003 on, the association has been the organizer of Reggio Gospel Day, an event featuring performances of Gospel choirs, to which seminars on gospel and spiritual music attended by internationally renowned professors have been subsequently added. One of them is the famous singer Cheryl Porter, who has often performed with the choir and is now one of its keenest fans, as well as, conversely, a source of inspiration to its singers. Among the most remarkable performances in their curriculum are the concerts held with Sherrita Duran and Tichina Vaughn, two intense moments of music framed by the landscape of the Strait of Messina.

There is a lot of anticipation for their Christmas concert, which rapidly sold out last year and is rumored to be coming back with a new formula.

From country churches to big stages, this group of amateur singers from Reggio have always proved their capability to move and enrapture their audience. The members of the choir are motivated by their passion and enthusiasm for music and the faith in its power to communicate joy and celebrate life through the soul and body, as proves the lesson the gospel genre has been teaching us ever since its origins.